Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 38
वासुदेवो हिरण्यात्मा पुरुष: सविता विराट । जीवभूतो<नुरूपस्त्वं परमात्मा सनातन:,आप वासुदेव, हिरण्यात्मा, पुरुष, सविता, विराट, अनुरूप, जीवात्मा और सनातन परमात्मा हैं
vāsudevo hiraṇyātmā puruṣaḥ savitā virāṭ | jīvabhūto 'nurūpas tvaṃ paramātmā sanātanaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “You are Vāsudeva—the golden-souled one; the cosmic Person; Savitṛ, the life-giving Sun; and Virāṭ, the all-pervading cosmic form. You are the indwelling life-principle, present in beings according to their nature, and you are also the eternal Supreme Self.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a comprehensive vision of divinity: Kṛṣṇa is both the cosmic source (Puruṣa, Virāṭ, Paramātman) and the inner life in all beings (jīvabhūta), appearing in forms suited to each creature (anurūpa). Devotion is thus aligned with recognizing the one reality present as both the universe and the indwelling Self.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing and extolling sacred truths; here he offers a stuti identifying Vāsudeva with major Vedic-cosmic principles (Savitṛ, Puruṣa, Virāṭ) and with the inner Self, elevating Kṛṣṇa’s status as the eternal Supreme.